Protecting Public Safety and Tax Reform Highlight Legislative Week
By State Senator Page Walley
(NASHVILLE) – Our Senate was hard at work last week advancing legislation to improve public and school safety, protect Second Amendment rights, cut taxes, and empower parents. This week, lawmakers will begin discussions to finalize the budget as the governor’s supplemental amendment is proposed to our Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee.
Bill aims to close loophole for defendants found incompetent to stand trial
As part of a big push to improve public safety in Tennessee, a bill would close a legal loophole for defendants found incompetent to stand trial.
The bill, which I am co-sponsoring, would require criminal defendants deemed incompetent to stand trial to be committed to an appropriate treatment facility. Current state law does not provide this requirement.
For the safety of our communities, these violent offenders who are incompetent to stand trial should not be released from custody.
The legislation was introduced following the murder of Jillian Ludwig, an 18-year-old Belmont University freshman who was fatally shot while walking in a Nashville park on Nov. 7, 2023. Her killer, Shaquille Taylor, was a repeat violent offender who was deemed incompetent to stand trial for committing aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in April 2023. Because of this finding, Taylor was released from custody and went on to murder Jillian Ludwig later that year.
The bill would additionally require individuals deemed incompetent to stand trial to be entered into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which serves as a namecheck database of people prohibited from buying or owning firearms.
Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act passes Senate
Legislation, which I co-sponsored, passed the Senate floor last week to protect financial transaction data associated with firearm and ammunition purchases from being used to conduct mass surveillance of law-abiding Tennesseans.
The bill, also known as the Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act, would prohibit financial institutions like banks and credit card companies from requiring the use of a specific merchant category code (MCC) to identify transactions that occur at firearms retailers in the state. The bill would also prevent legal purchases from being denied at firearms retailers as well as protect financial records of the transactions from disclosure unless required by law.
The potential for abuse of this information is clear. So clear that even Visa, the industry-leading payment processor, has paused implementation of this MCC code. This legislation is good public policy to put a stop to this kind of behavior.
Senate passes legislation to simplify franchise tax and return money to taxpayers
The Senate also approved legislation to cut taxes by simplifying the state’s franchise tax – a business tax on net worth. This adjustment will offer relief to taxpayers, modernize the way the tax is calculated and manage newly discovered legal risks.
The legislation will align Tennessee’s franchise tax with surrounding states. It is also a proactive measure to mitigate the legal risks of the current franchise tax policy.
Because our state is in a strong fiscal position due to years of consistent conservative budgeting, we are able to issue this tax cut and remedy legal concerns without a costly legal battle. This is the most fiscally responsible way to protect Tennessee tax dollars and provide equitable tax relief for businesses that have invested in Tennessee.
The current property measure of the nearly century-old franchise tax is an alternative minimum tax on property used in Tennessee. The property measure disincentivizes investment in the state and has recently created additional legal challenges.
Senate Bill 2103 would change Tennessee’s franchise tax to remove the property measure and authorize the Department of Revenue to issue refunds to taxpayers who have paid the franchise tax based on property located in the state.
It’s important to remember the money being returned under this bill is not government money; it’s taxpayer money. We trust that taxpayers are in the best position to decide how to use those funds. They may raise employee salaries or purchase additional manufacturing goods. Regardless of how the refunds are used, those taxpayers receiving refunds will circulate the money back into the economy.
As always, thank you for allowing me to serve as our state senator. I look forward to hearing from you in the coming weeks as we wind down the session. Please reach out to me about any issues important to you at 615-741-2368 or sen.page.walley@capitol.tn.gov.
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